TIGERS! (Also a couple cons in the near future)

[feuervogel]

As I mentioned yesterday, we went to see tigers in Pittsboro. The Carolina Tiger Rescue (fka Carnivore Preservation Trust) had a bunch of tigers, but also a lot of ocelots and binturongs and caracals and another spotted cat I can't recall. They're mostly from people who thought it was a good idea to have wild animals as pets, then discovered, oshi, this 6-month-old tiger is bigger than me.

Seriously, folks, what the hell?

After that we went to S&T's Soda Shoppe, which has OK food, but it's mostly for the ambience: it's an old pharmacy/soda shoppe, and there's a bunch of old pharmacy stuff there (including a pharmacist's license from the original owner. The board of pharmacy still uses the same font/calligraphy.) The ice cream is pretty darn good, though.

I didn't want to stop hanging out with people (I don't get enough social time!), so we called Nolan, who called Mo, and we all went to Tyler's Taproom. They had dinner, and Ben & I had beers & chips. I tried a Duvel Green (verdict: nice, but not as good as regular Duvel) and a Kasteel Rouge (verdict: cherry juice flavored beer; I like cherry lambics better, but it's worth a try.)

Today we're doing another glucose curve on Isis, who still hates it very much thank you. It's not as bad as last week, so far.

A couple cons have come to my attention: MidSouthCon, just over the TN/MS border from Memphis, my birthday weekend, and RavenCon, in Richmond a month later. MSC is a bit further (and could involve flying, since I-40 is still closed in the mountains after a rockslide in ... October, was it?) and the hotel is pricier, but there's a writers' conference thing, which appeals. RavenCon is closer (Richmond is about 2.5 hours) and the hotel is cheaper, but it appeals to me less. Financial constraints mean that I shouldn't really do both, especially if I want to apply to VP this year (assuming I get in, which I certainly don't.)

On the VP tip, thanks to my recent employment, I haven't made progress on this damned novel worth a damn, which means I have less time to get my application packet together (8000 words, including synopsis, so 6000-ish words of story + synopsis; cover letter iirc) before I go to Germany for a month. If I can do it, I do it; if not, I'll count it a learning experience and get it together for next year. When my finances might look a little better to begin with, since I'm not spending a ton on German school tuition, food, and 2 weeks' vacation in Vienna & Budapest.

So, blah. Now to focus on this writing thing the rest of the day (in between laundry and cat-poking.)

Comments

[listener.livejournal.com]

That Kasteel was more like cherry juice with slight hints of beer. So good, though.

(Thanks again for the random call to go drinking at Tyler's with you. That was a lot of fun!)

[feuervogel]

Thanks for coming out on random short notice!

[anacoluthon.livejournal.com]

Just so you know, my family thought that the detour (not the official one for I-40 that you find online, but another one I can find and report back with if you want) was just as fast as taking 40 through the mountains. It's about a twelve to thirteen hour drive from here to Memphis, depending on traffic around Knoxville and Nashville.

I am so glad I gave that Kasteel Rouge a try. Yum.

[feuervogel]

That's kinda long for a weekend con, you know? At that point, I'd consider flying. About 6-7 hours is my cutoff for not flying; 9-10 depends on a variety of things. More than that, and I'm like, I'll fly.

I'm glad you tried it, too ;)

[anacoluthon.livejournal.com]

Helpful tip: even though a flight to Memphis is barely longer than one to Nashville, they tend to be a good bit more expensive. My theory is that since Southwest doesn't fly directly from here to Memphis, the other airlines don't feel the need to compete as much.

I have bought round-trip airfare to BNA for under $200 before from Southwest, but the best Memphis rates I can remember have all been over $200 and sometimes closer to $270. It's been a while, though, so this may have changed; still, I'd suggest you look at tickets early if you decide to go.

[feuervogel]

They're all close to $400 right now :P Let's see, 730 miles each way, at 30 mpg, at $3/gallon... equals $150 in gas. Plus 24 hours' driving time. Vs a 2-hour flight for $400.

I'm impressed the Gmaps shows the closed section of 40! Though they just show it as non-existent.

[tsubasa.livejournal.com]

This question may be full of the stupid, but I have to ask. For the Carolina Tiger Rescue place, do you just walk along enclosures and see the animals inside? Or do they have a way for you to actually "pet" a tiger or other big cat?

The reason I ask is that at some point Crissy and her ex Dan went to some park somewhere in California or Arizona or something where they walked tigers etc around on leashes. They got their photo taken holding a white tiger cub. My mom went bananas over this and she would LOOOOOVE to go somewhere that you can actually touch big cats, but I think she's written it off as something she'll never be able to experience. And Pittsboro is not that far from Apex, so I would love to take her there sometime when I am down visiting.

[feuervogel]

They're a no-touch facility, since these are wild predators, with their predatory instincts in tact. They actually have a few tigers from a touch-the-wild-carnivores facility that was shut down when one of the animals bit a visitor (because all the animals were slated for euthanasia.)

You can get pretty close to them, though. They're inside big chain-link fences with a wood and rope secondary fence that visitors have to stand behind. You're close enough to be in the line of fire when they spray.

[tsubasa.livejournal.com]

Okay, cool. We haven't been to a zoo in a long time, but I remember my mom had an experience once with a gorilla where she put her hand up against the glass and the gorilla did the same thing on the other side. It really moved her. I know this isn't really a zoo per se, but I think she will be thrilled to get as close as she can!

[kirin]

Yeah, as akiko said it's no-touch, but it's still waaay closer than any zoo. Like maybe 5 feet when they come right up to the fence, which most of them are more than willing to do for treats. And they're all adorable.